WOLF IN FOOL’S CLOTH

Lynne was stretching his waist lazily as he gazed upon six figures sitting in front of him. After being taught by Auldin for seven days, he had actually managed to reach One Star Master Rank, and were anyone to learn about this, there’s no doubt they’d be vomiting blood. However, to the six figures in front of him, it wasn’t that much of a miracle. They were all well aware that Lynne had quite a lot of talent for Magic, bordering prodigious levels, and as he was simply bottling everything up for seventeen years, the moment the cap was open, the rivers would flow no doubt. Even if his quick ascension didn’t cause them to flinch, that is not to say that they weren’t terrified. Besides Auldin, not a single other person in the room actually wanted to send Lynne to be one of the investigators in the Kingly Ring.

As the first time Lynne met them, all five figures besides the Headmaster were cloaked up – even Auldin – and it was clear they really didn’t want to reveal their identities. Lynne wasn’t bothered by it as he simply waited for them to actually talk. He’s been standing there for almost ten minutes and not a single sound was uttered.

“What? Are you waiting for me to start stripping lewdly?” after about fifteen minutes Lynne was unable to endure it anymore and finally broke the silence.

“….” Headmaster sighed as he shook his head slightly. “Ah, let it be. Lynne, are you confident in being able to complete your mission?”

“No.” Lynne replied bluntly; all six figures besides him suddenly felt blood rush into their mouth, including Auldin. “What’s with the long face? You’re asking me to go and spy on King and his people. Even if you asked reincarnated Saint he’d say no, you buffoons.” Lynne didn’t bother holding back his tongue; if they didn’t show him any respect, two – or in this case seven – could play that game.

“….” all six sighed again, shaking their heads in unison, forming a rather comical scene. “Very well,” Headmaster said at last. “If you are blown, you know that we won’t cover for you?”

“Aye, aye...” Lynne said indifferently.

“Every year,” Headmaster began, taking in a deep breath. “Our Academy sends a few exemplary students to the Kingly Ring to become ‘Guardians’. Of course, it’s mostly just pretend and somewhat of a political statement, but it allows us to keep an eye out at all times. You’ll be sent alongside others this year, with the greatest recommendations which will land you to be a direct ‘Guardian’ of the King. In reality, you’ll just be a kid standing next to him and keeping his mouth shut. Because of the recent events, even we are in the blind on the current situation within the Palace. It’ll be completely up to you to figure things out. In addition, because your father was a strong supporter of the Late King, you’ll be given new identity.”

“….” Lynne remained silent, his expression calm. However, his heart boiled densely.

“Lynne Ronald, seventeen years old orphan from the Lower Ring who managed to overcome all obstacles of the climb with his sheer willpower and talent for Magic. How’s that sound?”

“Like a bloated story of a shitty hero.” Lynne said.

“Your tongue is sharper than my daggers.” one of the figures spoke out in a slightly angry voice.

“If you think my tongue is sharp you should see---”

“Khm, khm,” another figure suddenly coughed forcefully; Lynne recognized it was Auldin and backed off. “Remember, you can’t be discovered. We aren’t certain how deep the political games go. We’re not asking you to engage in anything – rather, we discourage it – but merely to observe and report. Whatever seems iffy, even if it’s insignificant, you need to report it.”

“… I can’t believe you just used the word ‘iffy’,” Lynne sneered towards Auldin. “Aren’t you a grown adult?”

“….” silence took over the room, but anyone could see that five of the six figures were doing their best to hold back the laughter.

“Alright, alright,” the Headmaster was the first to recover… marginally. “You’ll depart immediately under the new identity. All we can do now is pray for your success.”

“Instead of praying give me some gold.” Lynne said bluntly; all six figures actually spat out a mouthful of blood now, unable to hold back anymore. Shameless!! they all thought in unison. Naturally, nobody gave him even a copper coin. “Tsk,” Lynne clicked his tongue. “Stingy bastards.”

Lynne departed from the main building and went outside the Academy grounds where the carriage was waiting. It was large enough to hold about dozen grown men, but was currently only occupied by five youths. Carriage was pulled by two beautiful, black manes with bulging muscles. Two men riding horses bowed slightly towards Lynne who simply leapt into the carriage, ignoring them. To say it was intentional would actually be a lie, as Lynne didn’t even notice two men. Which could even be interpreted as a worse offense. Just like with guards, he didn’t even pay attention to the five youths in the carriage. He sat in the corner and crossed his arms, closing his eyes.

“Humph,” as carriage finally began moving, one of the five youths snorted. “We are delayed because of him, and not only does he fail to apologize, he ignores us? What arrogance!” it was a girl’s voice, and Lynne easily concluded that she couldn’t have been older than thirteen. He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the girl; indeed, she appeared petite and fragile, perhaps thirteen in age, with lengthy, silver hair flowing down. She had arrogant expression as she stared at Lynne. “What, you have problem with my words?” she added when she saw Lynne looking at her.

“No,” Lynne replied indifferently. “I’m just wondering why are kids allowed outside Academy grounds.”

“BLAH!” the girl bent over comically, nearly spitting out a mouthful of blood. She gritted her teeth and furrowed her brows, angrily staring at the calm Lynne. Although he didn’t know why she reacted so, others did, and immediately looked the other way, whistling. He’s so dead… one thought. Last week one girl called Princess Ella a kid and she immediately beheaded her!! another thought. How could this lad be so arrogant?!! “What did you just say?!!” hoarse voice came out of a childish body, surprising Lynne slightly.

“Looking closer,” Lynne narrowed his eyes slightly, observing the girl’s body. “Kid is too generous for you.”

“….” startled, all four other youths immediately leapt at the other side of the carriage. The girl suddenly bolted from her seat and gnashed at Lynne without warning. Although surprised, Lynne merely extended the palm of his hand and placed it onto the girl’s forehead, creating a rather comical scene.

“Oo,” he exclaimed, acting surprised. “You really have soft hair,” his fingers played with the girl’s hair. Every other youth already had pale faces, drained completely of blood. This dude has balls larger than Western Wastelands!!!

“I’ll flail you, you demented bitch!!” the girl shouted out like a lion as she stared at Lynne, bloodthirst filling up her eyes.

“Hey, hey,” Lynne’s expression turned sour as he lightly flickered girl’s forehead. “Little girls shouldn’t curse like that. Bad ghosts will come at night and eat you and stuff.” He is insane!! He is absolutely freaking insane!! the youths that were now practically half out of the carriage could barely look at this scene.

“I’ll curse your damn father out, let me go!” the moment girl’s words left her lips, Lynne’s face became cold and he immediately threw her against the carriage’s wall. Everyone’s faces turned into one’s full of shock – Lynne didn’t hold back even a bit. As the girl stabilized up to her knees, traces of blood were lingering on the side of her lips alongside shock in her eyes.

“Careful,” Lynne said, his voice cold and demanding. “There’s playing around, and there’s being an idiot.”

“Do I look like I care?” the girl said after recovering, but her voice had become much more controlled as well as her demeanor. “You just harmed a Princess. Once we reach the Palace, I’ll have my father hang you.”

“Eh?” now it was Lynne’s moment to be shocked. Don’t tell me he actually didn’t know who she was?!!! Was he living under earth all these years?! “You’re a Princess?”

“Princess Ella,” she said, seemingly self-satisfied. “Twenty-five years old, you scum.”

“Ooh,” however, instead of being terrified, Lynne suddenly grinned. “My best bro has huge hots for you. How about I introduce you to him?” the girl suddenly collapsed, tears streaming down her cheeks. I can’t win!! “Hey, no need to react like that!” Lynne spoke. “His face is bearable,” how can you talk about your best brother like that?! Princess thought. “He’ll be into all this and that stuff that you are into,” Forget hanging him, I’ll just hang myself!! “And he can protect you from stray dogs and stuff.” He’s an eternal loser, no doubt! “Oh, and he’s also virgin, so you’ll be enjoying him before any other woman in the world!!” the girl couldn’t handle it anymore and actually spat out a mouthful of blood. Lynne had innate talent to piss people off – whether it was hot-tempered princess or the statue of calmness that was the Headmaster of Academy. “I can’t tell why’s into you though,” Lynne didn’t even stop, continuing on as if he was completely unaware of the atmosphere. The four youths barely had only their feet in the carriage and were ready to leap out at any moment. “Is he into kids or something?”

“… what’s your name?” the girl asked as she sat back up. She realized that there was no point in screaming and arguing with this blockhead.

“Lynne, Lynne Ronald,” Lynne had mentally practiced this introduction and was finally given a chance to practice it, making him rather happy. “At your service, Princess!”

“… so you’re a new ‘Guardian’,” the girl said indifferently; she had decided, deep in her heart, that she’ll never meet Lynne and, if she did, she’ll hang herself. “God help us all.”

“I will, don’t worry!” Lynne grinned from ear to ear as he spoke.

“You’re just a One Star Master,” the girl sneered. “What can you help us with? Cleaning up our dogs’ shit?”

“Hey, don’t look down on physical labor!” Lynne scolded. “It brings coins, and whatever brings coins is honorable action!”

“… aren’t you afraid?” Ella suddenly asked. “Even after learning that my father is a King, you still didn’t show a shred of respect for me. You do realize that by just flipping my finger I can have you hanged naked in front of everyone, right?”

“Sorry Princess,” Lynne shook his head. “I only bow before mature ladies with big assets.”

“Ah… you really are demented. With that attitude, you’ll die before you even arrive at the Palace.”

“Death isn’t scary,” Lynne said calmly. “Death is nothing compared to being penniless. If you really want to kill me, I wouldn’t mind being shoved into the river of gold and drowning there.” his body suddenly shook as he said ‘penniless’. Luckily I’ve still got some gold left from my bro’s gift… After this, no one else spoke anymore.

Naturally, Lynne wasn’t an idiot; even though he obviously didn’t know that she was a Princess at first, after learning he would have apologized if that’s what it took. However, right now, he needed to make an impression. He had his own way of doing things, and if he was to become a spy, he can’t become that ‘mysterious and haunted’ character. He had already decided to become the Palace’s fool and clown, as no one feared a mere clown. Even if he didn’t meet Princess Ella in this carriage, he had already planned on causing some commotion when he arrived, making everyone think he’s a complete idiot. He’s going into the lion’s den, and he can’t become its prey. He needs to become that amusing ant that nobody really pays any attention to. Even if he never studied Magic, his father was heavily involved into politics of the Kingdom, and Lynne had often accompanied him to the meetings and listened to him when he spoke about people and business of the Kingdom. Kingly Ring, more so than any other part of the entire Highlind Kingdom, was basically just a game between backstabbers. In truth, if there was anyone of the youths within the Academy who could actually get any information from the Kingly Ring, it would probably boil down to Lynne alone.

The other four youths had finally withdrawn back into the carriage when the situation calmed down. Lynne carried strange grin on his face and everyone, even Princess Ella, had already concluded he was a careless and idiotic fool. Even if Princess Ella had fiery character, she was still an adult in heart, and couldn’t exactly butcher this kid for being an idiot. She could only pitifully look at him and be glad Headmaster didn’t send someone much smarter. Considering how things are in the Palace… perhaps this fool is a blessing in disguise…